Light Brings Salt

Volume 2, Issue 42 November 07, 2004

Iron Range Bible Church

Dedicated to the Systematic Exposition of the Word of God

Thoughts on Testing for Believers

G. Harry Leafe

When we encounter trials and tests of our faith, whether suddenly or—as in every life—regularly, James says that we are to consider it as “total joy.” In making that assertion he assumes a certain frame of reference. First, that we understand the dynamic relationship between the tests of our faith and maturity, and secondly, that our maturity in Christ relates to our inheritance in Christ.

In the case of personal growth, to become a mature person requires training and development through a “ growth process that will take one from being an immature babe to a fully mature, productive adult. The process requires parental oversight and guidance. And both the Scriptures and experience teach us that the process can be quite an ordeal!

The Proverbs tell us that children are naturally foolish. Solomon put it this way: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child” (Prov. 22:15). In general they are rebellious and require discipline. In fact, the second half of verse fifteen tells us that “The rod of discipline will remove it (foolishness) far from him.” Because children are foolish; they very often do not listen to the wisdom and instruction of their parents. The American author Mark Twain made a good point of this when he wrote, “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” It happens in the spiritual realm as well. Both the Old and New Testaments are replete with metaphors that picture God as a loving Father faithfully training His children. The point is so clear it does not need to be argued. Even the process and methods that He uses to train us are spelled out. Do you know what they are? Have you ever tried to relate the events of your life to this growth process? Do you see a relationship between the momentary tests of your faith that James talks about and God’s overall training program? How about the stress and pressure that Paul speaks about in Romans 5:3 -- how does that fit into the process?

Learning From Past Experiences

The Jewish Christians who lived in and around Jerusalem really had it rough. Imagine being raised in a culture dominated by the Law of Moses, where strict conformity to Mosaic legislation was expected’—and even demanded. Imagine yourself identifying with a new religious group that was considered to be anti-Jewish and anti-Law of Moses, a group that believed its leader to be the promised Messiah. Your boss has told you that you are no longer needed. The shops in town no longer want to do business with you. You and your family are treated as outcasts from society.

You are not alone in your, experience. Many others have also chosen to follow the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Many of them have experienced the seizure of their properties, some have even been thrown into prison. For a good while now you and the others have accepted your tribulations joyfully. You have tried to help each other the best you could. The Apostle Paul has also been a great help. Not long ago he was able to raise a large amount of money from among your gentile brethren. It certainly helped a lot of people. But “Enough is enough!” you say. “Surely Jesus should have returned by this time, it’s, been thirty years!” “How long must we endure these hardships?” A short time later you begin to notice that some of your friends in the Church are no longer there when you meet. You’ve heard that they’ve gone back to the old system. You think that maybe that’s not a bad idea. Surely you would be welcomed back. Your old boss may be so glad to see you come to your senses that he might give you back your old job. You won’t stop believing in Jesus as your Messiah and Savior, you reason, you’ll just go through the motions of the Law. You might even lead some of them to believe in Christ!

What I have just described is the situation of the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews. In the letter the writer argues that what they are defecting from is far superior to what they are going back to. Jesus Christ is superior revelation (1:1-4); He is superior to Angels, beings held in high regard by the Jews (1:5-2:18); He is superior to Moses the Law giver (3:1-6); He is superior to Aaron the Law interpreter (4:14ff); and His priesthood is superior to that of the old Jewish order (7:1-28). He demonstrates the superiority of the work of Christ by contrasting the New Covenant with the Old (8:1-13); the New Sanctuary with the Old (9:1-10); and the New Sacrifice with the Old (9:11-10:18). But carefully woven within his argument is a picture that is intended to bring fear to the hearts of the strongest of men. Simply stated, the picture is this: those who are believers in Christ are obligated to live in faithful obedience to the directives of the Word of God. Just because the penalty of our sin was borne by Christ on the cross does not mean that there are no consequences for sin. Just as the children of Israel forfeited their inheritance because of unbelief—“the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard” (Heb. 4:2), we face that same possibility. It can happen to us the same way it happened to them. Thus the writer warns, “Take care, brethren, lest there be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God” (3:12).

But what are we to do? “Encourage one another day after day, . . .lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (3:13). The Hebrews had failed. At the beginning their works of faith demonstrated an obedient walk with God. But now there are no works of faith. And there is no steadfast endurance (remember that James and Paul have said that steadfast endurance comes about as a result of an obedient faith). Even under the Old Covenant believers endured great hardship—including the loss of life—in order to lay hold of the promise (Heb. 11). What about you? Have the stress and pressure and afflictions of life caused you to become disoriented to the plan of God? That’s what happened to the Hebrews.

Some years ago I took flying lessons to obtain a pilots license. During the course of the instruction, I was taught (by demonstration) how easy it is to become disoriented in flight when you do not have an outside object with which to orient yourself—like when flying through a bank of clouds. It is possible to believe that you are ascending when in fact you are descending. You may believe that you are flying right-side up when really you are up-side down. They only way to survive is to trust your instruments. No matter what your senses tell you, you must trust your instruments. The Hebrews became disoriented “flying through the clouds of life.” They were “flying” according to their senses. They never checked the “instruments”—God’s Word!

A Proper Orientation

“Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2).

“Don’t let anything keep you from the finish line,” the writer says. “Many others have done it, and you can too. But to make it takes endurance, and you must keep your eyes firmly fixed on the finish line. Great reward awaits those who run the race successfully.” But then, if it is so simple, what happened to the Hebrews? They forgot something!

What they forgot is at once both simple and profound: “You have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives”’ (12:5). It is a quote from Proverbs 3:11-12. Everything they were experiencing in life was related to this statement. They had failed to orient themselves on the basis of it. Their regression from maturity back to being babes again (5:11-6:12), their lack of steadfast endurance, and their potential loss of inheritance, all resulted from a lack of application of this truth!

God is training us as His children. Everything we experience in life is a part of that training process. It is the very same thing James and Paul spoke about. The circumstances of our lives (stress, pressure, tests of faith) are intended to mature our faith and equip us to receive our inheritance. They accomplish that as long as we handle them correctly. And it is our works of faith that prove whether or not we are handling them correctly (cf. James 2). It is because of this growth process that the writer states, “It is for discipline that you endure” (12:7).

Words Are Important

The English words of these verses don’t tell the full story. For example, take the word “discipline.” We tend to think in terms of the rod, or a belt. But the Greek word paideia (discipline) means far more than that. It refers to the whole training and education of children. It involves the cultivation of mind and morals. It employs admonition, reproof, and punishment. In this context it is best understood as “God’s training program.”

The term “faint’ (Gr. ekluo) means to become despondent or fainthearted, and the term “reproved” (Gr. elegcho) means to convict or point out a fault. Another important term is “scourge” (Gr. mastigoo) which means chastening and training by affliction. With these definitions in mind, lets develop a paraphrase of the text:

My son, do not take lightly the training program of the Lord, nor become despondent or fainthearted when He points out areas in your life that need work, for those whom the Lord loves He trains as His children, and He chastens and trains by affliction every son whom He receives. Do you see the point? Everything that we face in life is a part of God’s training program for us as His children. Nothing is excepted! And it is through this training program that we are matured and prepared to receive our inheritance. There is no other program. In its outworking, God affirms our faith as well as pointing out those areas that need work. The same circumstances can do both together. Further, God does not give up on us, He is faithful to the task.

Keep in mind, however, that the experience of it is not always pleasant. Nor is it intended to be. We may be called upon to face loneliness, sorrow, illness, pain, heartache, even death. We are reminded that “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful” (12:11a). But if we hang in there with faith and obedience, and with the high expectation which faith brings, it will accomplish the objective: “yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (12:11b).